$2k scopes leupold ert or nightforce nxs

[gspfla]

I have read all the info on this site that would cover this topic but still need to ask which scope and why. Both scopes cost about the same so $ is out both reticles are close the tmr for leupold and the np-r1 for the nightforce so thats out and the power is close at 8.5x25 and 5.5x22 respectivly. Now the leupold is first focal plane and the nightforce is second and there are a few other small differances but which one would everyone pick if it just came down to grabbing one box over the other and why. All the feedback will really help make this a final decision for me.

[elkboy]

I have not had any time behind the Nightforce but have heard nothing but good about them. I use a Mark 4 M5 ERT 6.5 to 20 2nd focal plane with the H27 Horus reticle. It is a busy reticle and takes a little time to get used to. Once you do, you can engage multiple distance targets and hold for wind without taking your eye off the scope. No dialing needed until over 7 or 8 mils. Engagement times on targets were so fast I took it off the Rem 700 and put it on a LR308. The only drawback is the field of veiw on high power scopes. It works best at 400 yards and further, hence the "ERT" title!

[The Surgeon]

I have not had any time behind the Nightforce but have heard nothing but good about them. I use a Mark 4 M5 ERT 6.5 to 20 2nd focal plane with the H27 Horus reticle. It is a busy reticle and takes a little time to get used to. Once you do, you can engage multiple distance targets and hold for wind without taking your eye off the scope. No dialing needed until over 7 or 8 mils. Engagement times on targets were so fast I took it off the Rem 700 and put it on a LR308. The only drawback is the field of veiw on high power scopes. It works best at 400 yards and further, hence the "ERT" title!

I have been looking at this reticle for some time now. Does one need to have the software for this reticle to get the full capabilities out of it?

I have a NightForce and absolutely love the thing. I can count the hairs on a fly's ass at a 100 yards. Their customer service is great. Another thing I like about NightForce, of course its not that big of a deal, is their rings. When I bought my NF scope and rings I didn't have to bore sight. The POI was only off 2.25" at 100 yards, but my base is integrated into the receiver so this may have made the difference. Another nice item is NF puts out their own Ballistics software. Again, not a big deal but it is nice.

[Madcap Magician]

I'm going to say Nightforce, but then I'm a little biased. If you have any questions on one, either 00bullitt or myself both work for the company and would be more than happy to answer any questions you have.

What are you going to be using the rifle for? What caliber? What distances, environment, etc. With a little better idea in mind I could make some sort of recommendation from our product line.

And to note, the NP-R1 is an MOA based reticle, while the TMR is Mil-based. If you're just getting started the MOA may be a little more intuitive, plus the fact that your adjustments would match your reticle. If you wanted a Mil based reticle take a look at the MLR or Mil-Dot with a .1 Mil-Rad adjustment. For the Leupold in particular, I don't know if they offer a TMR with a .1 Mil-Rad adjustment so take a look.

[gspfla]

thanks for the info so far. the rifle will be the savage 12 lrp in 6.5 creedmore. I was aware of the one being a moa and the other a mil adjustments and since i was starting at scratch with the 500m and out shooting was just thinking i would learn on the platform i ended up with. As for the nightforce which reticle setup would you think to be the best for that rifle and those distances? really looking for a fun setup out to 1000m. also the thoughts on first and second focal plane i do know the way each work but just thoughts and why. The ert m5 does have .1 mil, and a recomendation from your lineup would be great and maybe some leupold guy is out there with a recomendation as well. One other thing of note is these two brands are whats available to me to pick from so this is the reason for the debate.

[elkboy]

I have not had any time behind the Nightforce but have heard nothing but good about them. I use a Mark 4 M5 ERT 6.5 to 20 2nd focal plane with the H27 Horus reticle. It is a busy reticle and takes a little time to get used to. Once you do, you can engage multiple distance targets and hold for wind without taking your eye off the scope. No dialing needed until over 7 or 8 mils. Engagement times on targets were so fast I took it off the Rem 700 and put it on a LR308. The only drawback is the field of veiw on high power scopes. It works best at 400 yards and further, hence the "ERT" title!

I have been looking at this reticle for some time now. Does one need to have the software for this reticle to get the full capabilities out of it?

I have a NightForce and absolutely love the thing. I can count the hairs on a fly's ass at a 100 yards. Their customer service is great. Another thing I like about NightForce, of course its not that big of a deal, is their rings. When I bought my NF scope and rings I didn't have to bore sight. The POI was only off 2.25" at 100 yards, but my base is integrated into the receiver so this may have made the difference. Another nice item is NF puts out their own Ballistics software. Again, not a big deal but it is nice.

I have not seen the software you mentioned. The horus site had a little game you could play to see how it works. I wasn't impressed with the horus scopes or their repair and warranty policy. Mil turrets with a mil based reticle, or MOA with both, will make adjustments more intuitive.

[Tom Freeman]

Without a doubt grab the NF.

Leupold has too many issues. They are getting better and are trying, but the issues are still there.

[bgary]

I use a Mark 4 M5 ERT 6.5 to 20 2nd focal plane with the H27 Horus reticle. It is a busy reticle and takes a little time to get used to. Once you do, you can engage multiple distance targets and hold for wind without taking your eye off the scope.

I have been looking at this reticle for some time now. Does one need to have the software for this reticle to get the full capabilities out of it?

+1 on the Nightforce

And, "-1" on the Horus reticle. I've got a couple of their 4-16s under my bench, and as much as I *wanted* to like them the reticle is just too busy, and the gridlines get too thick at higher magnifications. Net result that it is an interesting idea, but not executed particularly well IMHO.

Having said that, one does not need their software to use it effectively. The reticle presents a mil-spaced grid in the first focal plane, so any system which returns hold-offs in mils will work. If your dope (however you derive it) says to hold 6-mils high and 2-mils left (or whatever), you count 6 lines down in the grid, go over to the right 2 lines, and hold "that spot" as your cross-hair on the target. Nothing particularly magic about it. The place where it is kinda cool is if you can spot your misses through the grid. If your round impacts 2-mils high and 3-mils left (or whatever), you just adjust your hold by that much with the grid, and send it.

[JKSNIPER]

Nightforce....if you can afford it?

Schmidt and Bender...they're better...... but definitely N.F. rather than Leupold.

[427Cobra]

I own a 5.5-22 NPR1 NF and 5-25 Premier Reticle Gen2XR with .1MRAD knobs, for static fixed position shooting like F-Class I perfer MOA, but I hardly do that anymore, I shoot in percision rifle matches now where the targets are 10 feet to 1000 yards, multi postion shooting with quick holds and no time Mil based reticle and MRAD knobs are truly superior IMHO, forget about what you think you understand with MOAs because they have nothing to do with inches, and Mils are not Metric, both are measurements of an arc\angle\circle, start thinking what I need to dial into my scope to hit the target I'm shooting at, and should you miss(and you will) how to correctly measure the miss with the reticle and adjust using the reticle(fast) or the knobs(slow) to make a second round hit. Do Not assign a hard value to your knobs at a set distance, 1/4moa click is just that, 10 feet or 10 miles, same with .1MRAD click, because thats all the adjustment is, MAKE DAM sure you buy a scope with a reticle that has knobs to match, Mil\Mil or MOA\MOA. Leupold has a great warranty, but thet do not make great scopes, some are good and some are crap, how do you know what your getting from a company that does that, Rolls Royce doesn't sell commuter cars, Nightforce makes very good scopes, so good that almost all of Americas SF snipers use a NF scope on there weapon, NF doesn't sell run of the mill products, they only make one class of scope, either NSX or BR. I recommend a FFP scope over a SFP scope, the reson is no matter what power your shooting at the reticle substains the same, 1 MOA is 1 MOA/1 Mil is 1 Mil at any power setting, makes windage\elevation holds the same at every power setting. Lastly somebody is going to come say that MOA are a finer unit of measurement, there are 60 MOA in 1 degree, and 21600 MOA in a circle, on the MRAD side there is 6283 MilRads in a circle, but very few can actually shoot the difference, so don't think MOAs are superior because of that, because there not. Learn to use the tool your eyes look thru, spend more on that tool than the weapon it goes on, your targets will know the difference.

[Stlhead]

Save up a few more bucks and get the F1 3.5-15 the extra coin will be well spent. First focal, zero stops, includes rings. I have been a S&B guy for years, and picked up one of the mil spec over runs for a practice rifle, and have been pleasantly surprised. They are some great scopes. I would assume the regular F1's to be just as nice. Good luck, and have fun shooting with whatever glass you choose.

[JKSNIPER]

You have no idea just how much better they are until you have an S&B and a Leupold side by side and compare them.

The usual reaction after looking into the Leupold and now glassing through the S&B is "Wow!"

MUCH clearer glass ...easy to see the difference right away.

BUT that clear glass comes with a big price tag.

[CCL]

Go Nightforce over Leupold on re-sale value alone.

I would also look at the Vortex Razor for about the same money. Good glass, zero stop, illuminated ret, great reticle options, FFP in either mil or moa and great CS.

Just another option that you won't regret if made!

ccL

[n1guess]

I prefer the Leupold. I have the Mark 4 M5 TMR..I did the same thing you are doing shoping around and ended up on the Leupold. the only scope i liked better was the S&B but it was 1200 more and there wastn 1200 difference for me. A buddy of mine has sent 2 NF scopes back becuase of problems and they are bigger and didnt have the first focal...hope this helps just...but when you in the level of scopes you are looking at it comes down to personal pref.

[gspfla]

just wanted to say thanks for all the replys and great info.I must say it was quite a difficult choice but I did end up with the leupold and the horus reticle.I own 3 leupolds on hunting rifles and have always been happy with them and I am sure that the level of leupold I am getting will be that much better. I know the nightforce is a great optic but I guess im going to keep it in the family and im sure I will be pleased,thanks for all the help.

[Robert Snyder]

I was originally going to go with a Mark 4 Leupold until I started researching the NightForce even though the one that I picked being the NXS F1 Illuminated 5.5X15X50 with the LV.5 recticle is costly, I felt it was the kind of glass that I wanted to put on top of my 20" 308 REPR. If it is good enough for the Military then it should be great for me.

[Aaron M]

Go Nightforce over Leupold on re-sale value alone.

I would also look at the Vortex Razor for about the same money. Good glass, zero stop, illuminated ret, great reticle options, FFP in either mil or moa and great CS.

Just another option that you won't regret if made!

ccL

x2 on looking at the Vortex razor HD. they are pretty impressive and the glass is as good or better than NF and much better than leupold.

[divenshort]

As much as I like the Vortex I would not say its better then the Night Force F1. Is it better then the SFP Nighforce? Maybe a little. Both are great scopes. But its hard to beat a NightForce. When they come out with there FFP 5-22 then its game on!

[JKSNIPER]

Lots of scopes cost less than N.F. or S.& B. ....they may even perform ...for a while.

N.F. and S&B have the reputation they do for their clarity,repeatability, and durability in the field.

Theres a reason the Marine snipers use the S&B scope.

Don't buy twice....buy once and cry once.

JK

[ltdmstr]

I recently acquired a Nightforce 5.5-22x56 and mounted it on an FN SPR in .300 WSM. Could not be happier with the thing. Good quality and built to last. If you're looking at it as an investment, spend the cash for the NF. If you're looking for another toy to play with, then the Leupold should be fine.

[Tyler Payne]

I really like Leupold scopes. Jk sniper says that there is a reason that marines use S&B but the army uses and has used for a while Leupold. We have been running the Leupold scopes for a while and haven't had a problem with them yet. For the money however the new Bushnell scopes are pretty nice!

[hitman_usmc]

I've used Luepold's, NF's, Premier's, and S&B's. My favorite for the money is the NF F1 hands down. S&B's are nice but the F1 is the best bang for the buck in my opinion.

[AlamoShooter]

kids

[broke_again]

Forget the Leupold and forget the NF. Get a Bushnell HDMR for less cash. If you want to step up to a $1,700 scope then get the Vortex.

[Alaskapopo]

Forget the Leupold and forget the NF. Get a Bushnell HDMR for less cash. If you want to step up to a $1,700 scope then get the Vortex.

I love Vortex and they make great glass but Nightforce has them beat in the precision rifle area in my opinion and I own both. Now for low power variables I would take the new Vortex 1-6 over the Nightforce 1-4 any day.

Pat

Edited November 1, 2012 by Alaskapopo